ug‧ly [uhg-lee] offensive to the sense of beauty; displeasing in appearance

gone

by theuglyearring

just when i started wearing and loving the bun thoughts of bowl haircuts (a tribute to mlle. royal), bangs, and this infiltrated and corrupted the mind.
on friday, i surrendered six inches.

****

and then i learned a few things about hair:

Asian cultures see long, unkempt hair in a woman as a sign of sexual intent or a recent sexual encounter, as usually their hair is tied up in styles such as the ponytail, plait or any bun.

The traditional connotation of “long hair” in English meant, roughly, someone artistically knowledgeable or wise, an aesthete.As a descriptive term, it has been applied to Merovingians and classical music enthusiasts, as well as hippies and aesthetes.

Long hair is traditionally accepted as a female characteristic in western cultures. Feminists and women’s rights activists have long debated whether to advocate long hair as a solely feminine trait, or to call for short hair in opposition to a stereotype.

Anthropologists speculate that the functional significance of long head hair may be adornment, a by-product of secondary natural selection once other somatic hair (body hair) had largely been lost. Another possibility is that long head hair is a result of Fisherian runaway sexual selection, where long lustrous hair is a visible marker for a healthy individual. For some groups, however, short hair is the selected trait.

Some Psychoanalysts and Freudian commentators argue that long hair represents the id and aggression, and that cutting the hair is thus akin to castration. Hair is thus considered to be a potent sexual emblem, both for men and women, having many parallels with intercourse. Further connections made with sexuality are made with the fact that historically, adulterous husbands would cut off their wife’s hair if she threatened to reveal his secret, thus violating the role of her husband.

Women often have a stronger inclination towards long hair than men do. Younger women tend to have longer hair than older women. Hair quality is correlated with women’s health. Hair length and quality can act as a cue to a woman’s youth and health and, as such, signify reproductive potential. Some feminists have declared long hair as “irrefutably feminine,” while others argue for shorter hair. Some religious scholars even believe that without hair or long hair, a woman is not complete. In some cultures, long, well-kept hair symbolizes wealth and luxury, as such hair is difficult to maintain in poverty.